The Wizard of Oz (1982 film)
The Wizard of Oz (Ozu no Mahotsukai) is a 1982 Japanese anime feature film directed by Fumihiko Takayama, from a screenplay by Yoshimitsu Banno and Akira Miyazaki, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum and W. W. Denslow, produced by Yoshimitsu Banno and Katsumi Ueno for Toho Co, Ltd. A version edited by Johann Lowenberg and produced and directed by John Danylkiw appeared on television in the United States in 1982. Alan L. Gleitsman was the executive producer for his own Alan Enterprises. It was distributed in English-speaking countries by Paramount Pictures. The English dialogue for this movie was recorded first, and the movie was not dubbed into Japanese for release in the country where it was animated until 1986. Although this movie is in no way related to the 1986 anime TV series produced by Panmedia outside of having the same source material, the fact that the movie was released in Japan in the same year that the TV series was first broadcast (and that both this film and the TV series were released in English in the U.S.) sometimes leads to the two works being confused. Plot Cast English *Aileen Quinn as Dorothy Gale *Lorne Greene as The Wizard *Billy Van as Scarecrow *John Stocker as Tin Man *Thick Wilson as Cowardly Lion *Elizabeth Hanna as Good Witch of the North, Jellia Jamb, Wicked Witch of the West *Wendy Thatcher as Glinda Japanese Songs The music was written by Jo Hisaishi and Yuichiro Oda. The U.S. version featured new lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Allen Byrns, and the songs were performed by Aileen Quinn. #"It's Strictly Up To You" #"I Dream of Home" #"A Wizard of a Day" Trivia The English dialogue for this movie was recorded first, and the movie was not dubbed into Japanese for release in the country where it was animated until 1986. Although this movie is in no way related to the 1986 anime TV series produced by Panmedia (except for having the same source of material), the fact that the movie was released in Japan in the same year that the TV series was first broadcast (and that both this film and the TV series were released in English in the U.S.) sometimes leads to the two works being confused. The film is known for staying particularly close to the novel, its primary elimination being the journey to Glinda, making it slightly less of a deus ex machina than in the MGM verison. Also borrowed from that version are the red "magic shoes" rather than the silver shoes of Baum's text. Some familiarity with the later books is clear, as the houses are the same two-chimneyed domes found in the artwork of John R. Neill, who did not illustrate the first Oz book. It is one of the rare films to depict the various forms the Wizard appears to each of the travelers, such as the Beautiful-Winged Lady (shown to be a puppet rather than the Wizard in a costume, as in the book), the Terrible Beast (looking like an ordinary rhinoceros) and the Ball of Fire. External links *''The Wizard of Oz'' - at Internet Movie Database *''The Wizard of Oz'' - at Wikipedia.org *Review at Anime News Network Wizard of Oz, The Category:OZ Cartoons